Where’s The Teabagger Army?
Arizona just passed a bill making it mandatory that you have your papers with you in the state:
The bill, known as SB 1070, makes it a misdemeanor to lack proper immigration paperwork in Arizona. It also requires police officers, if they form a “reasonable suspicion” that someone is an illegal immigrant, to determine the person’s immigration status.
Currently, officers can inquire about someone’s immigration status only if the person is a suspect in another crime. The bill allows officers to avoid the immigration issue if it would be impractical or hinder another investigation
So, what constitutes a “reasonable suspicion?” Would talking with a Hispanic accent be considered reasonable?
So, when are we going to see a teabagger protest of this law? Police and Sheriffs have now been turned into Federal Immigration agents. You could now be arrested just because the police officer doesn’t like you and you don’t have your birth certificate (note: most drivers’ licenses don’t have immigration information on them).
So, are we going to see a teabagger army protesting this loss of freedom? They can also prove their bipartisanship, since the bill was sponsored by Republicans and will be signed by a Republican governor.
Tags: Arizona, Immigration, Racial Profiling
Will my Kenyan birth certificate suffice? 😉
Good point, UI. When I asked last week what rights the Tea Partiers thought they had lost, all I got back was meaningless drivel that amounted to no more than long-standing safety regulations. Now, here we have a story about people actually having their rights infringed upon.
I in no way claim to be a constitutional scholar, but this has got to be in the ballpark of illegal search and seizure. Arizona’s a big place — cops don’t know everyone. AZ has a large native, Hispanic-American population. I shudder to think how many spanish-speaking US citizens will be put through a lot of unnecessary trouble before this is struck down. Kind of reminds me of some of the Black Codes from the post-Civil War South, when blacks could be arrested in some places for not having their proper papers with them.
When I saw the title, I thought the post would be about the vastly inflated numbers of teabaggers “counted” on April 15. WDEL’s Alan Loudell interviewed a British journalist today who reported on a South Carolina tea party he covered. Organizers were expecting over 1,000 to attend; he counted 150.
Geezer, that’s “Fox Math.”
I definitely think the Tea Party is losing some steam. All their events are less well-attended and some Republicans now want to distance themselves.
I heard this story on NPR this AM. And it occurs to me that the folks opposed to a National ID can likely point to this day as the day they lost any steam left in their argument. It seems that this law would make it mandatory for your to carry around ID proving your resident status. That would be for everybody. If this law survives, it will replicate with calls by law enforcement for standards in ID. Again. It is really a shame. I have very good friends in AZ and suspect it will be a long time before I go back to visit them now.
Context:
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/64385
then they’re reactionary cowards, Mis, and don’t deserve the freedom the rest of us have.
though passing this would be political gold for dems and liberals for the coming decades….so go ahead; slit your own throats, old, scared AZ white folk.
Easy for you to say from your comfortable position in the northeast. I’d say you’ve taken arrogance and ignorance to a new level, but at DL, this seems somewhat average.
I suspect some aspects of this law will be struck down like the “reasonable suspicion” language but other parts will survive. The law is incredibly vague, the courts will strike it down for this alone. But face it: increased enforcement is coming and possibly a national ID card.